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Umpqua refers to a group of several tribes of American Indians who inhabited the Umpqua Basin in what is now south-central Oregon.

Four major tribal groups who inhabited the region prior to European settlement included the Southern Molalla, the Cow Creek Band, the Lower Umpqua, and the Upper Umpqua.

The Southern Molalla lived along the Deschutes River but later moved to the headwaters of the Umpqua River and Rogue River. Today, descendants of the Southern Molalla are enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

The Cow Creek Band was originally a band of the Takelma people and resided along the South Umpqua River, Myrtle Creek, and Cow Creek. At various times, they were known as the Cow Creek Takelma. Today, they are represented in the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Native Americans, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Native Americans is one of nine federally recognized indigenous tribal governments in Oregon and was the first tribe in the Oregon Territory to sign a treaty with the U.S. government. Under the terms of the treaty, the Cow Creek Tribe became a landless tribe, ceding more than 800 square miles of land to the federal government, while never receiving the reservation the treaty promised.

The Lower Umpqua were known, in their own language, as the Kuitsh, Quuiič, or Quuiich, and were sometimes referred to as the Southern People. Prior to European colonization, the Lower Umpqua lived on the coast, from the Siltcoos River south to Tenmile Creek. Lower Umpqua people are members of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.

The Upper Umpqua mostly inhabited the area around the South Umpqua River, near the current location of Roseburg, Oregon, and the Umpqua River upstream of present-day Scottsburg. In their language, they were known as the Etnemitane, Tl'uu-dv-nee-yu, or Dv-nee-yu. Today, the Upper Umpqua people are represented in the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

Archaeological evidence suggests that indigenous people's settlement of the Umpqua region began at least 8,000 years before European settlers arrived.

The Umpqua people were closely connected to the land, so their traditional way of life revolved around the annual cycles of nature. In the winter, they lived in cedar plank homes in permanent villages; in the summer, they were more mobile.

European colonization of the region had a significant impact on the Umpqua people. In the 1800s, they were forcibly moved from their homelands and placed on reservations, which disrupted their way of life, culture, and religious practices.

Today, descendants of the various groups that made up the Umpqua people are members of various tribes, as listed above, most of which are shared with other American Indian people.

Websites for either of these tribes or organizations are appropriate for this category, along with their enterprises, businesses, medical facilities, schools, places of worship, programs, or events. Businesses operated by individual Umpqua people could also be listed here.

 

 

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